WATCH: Casper Ruud defeats Felipe Meligeni at Roland Garros to avenge father Christian’s loss at Bastad 1995 final; here’s how

Casper Ruud had some extra motivations to win his first-round match at Roland Garros.

WATCH: Casper Ruud defeats Felipe Meligeni at Roland Garros to avenge father Christian’s loss at Bastad 1995 final; here’s how

Casper Ruud in the Roland Garros press conference (Via Imago/X)

Seventh seed Casper Ruud booked his place in the second round of Roland Garros after a convincing straight-set win over unseeded Brazilian Felipe Alves. However, the 25-year-old came into this match with a bit of research.

In preparation for this match, Ruud was given some special information by his father, Christian Ruud. The senior Ruud lost in the 1995 Bastad final against Fernando Meligeni, who is the uncle of Felipe. Hence, the Ruud family got their revenge 29 years later.

We talked about it for breakfast, actually. My father, he lost Bastad final one time in his career, so he was never able to win a ATP tournament, and the guy he lost to in the final was Felipe's uncle.
 I think both me and my dad wanted to get some revenge on the Meligeni family. It was worth the wait, I guess. It was many years we had to wait, but we got it today.
Casper Ruud said in his post-match press conference

Christian retired in 2001 with a career-winning percentage of 44.2% and a highest career ranking of World No.39. However, his son has reached a peak beyond his dreams.

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Casper holds the highest number of match wins on the ATP tour this year, boasting a win-loss record of 35-9. The seventh seed has clinched titles in Barcelona and Geneva. He is aiming to reach his fourth Grand Slam final and third in Roland Garros.

Can Casper Ruud go deep again at Roland Garros?

This is arguably the most open men’s field at a Grand Slam this century, especially since the emergence of the Big 3 (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic). Tennis fans are looking beyond the obvious names like Djokovic, as Nadal has already been knocked out in the first round by Alexander Zverev.

Casper Ruud Novak Djokovic
Casper Ruud and Novak Djokovic embrace at Monte Carlo (via Imago)

How about Casper Ruud getting third-time lucky at Roland Garros? The Norwegian tennis player has reached the finals of the clay Slam in the last two years, losing to Nadal and Djokovic, respectively. With the Serb’s form under a cloud and the King of Clay already dethroned, it is time for Ruud to view this year’s Roland Garros as a massive opportunity.

The three-time Grand Slam finalist has come into this year’s French Open with arguably the best preparation of his career. He reached his first Masters 1000 final in Monte Carlo, famously beating Djokovic for the first time in his career, although he lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.

The Norwegian player reversed the result against the 2021 French Open runner-up in Barcelona, winning his first-ever ATP 500 event. He won his 12th career title in Geneva on Saturday against Tomas Machac, who had beaten Djokovic in the semi-finals.

Ruud is projected to play Djokovic in the quarter-final in a repeat of last year’s final. However, he should believe he has a better chance this year compared to last.

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